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Ten years after heli-skiing was born in British Columbia (BC), another Canadian ski pioneer, Allan Drury, delivered the world’s first commercial cat-ski operation. In 1975, Drury—an exploration geologist and ski instructor—and his wife established Selkirk Wilderness Skiing in southeastern BC’s Selkirk Mountain Range. 

These mountains provide the perfect terrain for a cat-ski operation, with roads climbing over 2,500 m (8,202 ft) above sea level, setting up guests to drop into prime bowls and glades. Over the past 35 years, the family-run business has operated out of its snowcat-access-only lodge and its base Farmhouse in Meadow Creek, about a 90-minute drive from Nelson, BC. 

The vast majority of cat skiing in the world still happens within this part of Canada.

Other BC operations that have come to the fore include Island Lake Lodge in the Kootenay Rockies near Fernie, which features off-the-grid luxury lodges and off-the-hook deep-powder runs.

There’s Revelstoke Cat Skiing in the Selkirks and Big Red Cats out of Rossland; the latter lays claim to being the only cat-skiing operation in BC that runs separate outings for groups sorted according to skill level. 

In between the two is Retallack, voted best cat operation in both reader and industry polls by US-based Freeskier magazine (Monashee Powder Snowcats is also on the list).

And yes, there is cat skiing east of the Rockies, notably Blomidon Cat Skiing, about 20 minutes from Corner Brook and Marble Mountain in Newfoundland and Labrador. Now into its 15th season, Blomidon takes riders high above the treeline in the Appalachians backcountry of our easternmost province.